Brazil coronavirus deaths pass 100,000 as country struggles to contain pandemic
- More than 1,000 daily fatalities reported on average since late May
- Confirmed infections at over 3 million cases, behind only the United States
Brazil surpassed a grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Saturday night, and five months after the first reported case the country has not shown signs of crushing the disease.
The nation of 210 million people has been reporting an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May and reported 905 for the latest 24-hour period.
The Health Ministry said there had been a total of 3,012,412 confirmed infections with the new coronavirus – death and infection tolls second only to the United States. And as in many nations, experts believe that both numbers are severe undercounts due to insufficient testing.
In a tribute to Covid-19 victims Saturday morning, the non-governmental group Rio de Paz placed crosses on the sand on the famed Copacabana beach Saturday and released 1,000 red balloons into the sky.
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“It’s very sad. Those 100,000 represent various families, friends, parents, children”, said Marcio do Nascimento Silva, a 56-year-old taxi driver who lost his children in the pandemic and joined the tribute.